From the Archive: My Favorite Posts from 2018, So Far...

It's vacation time, so new reviews will have to wait until June. In the meantime, here are my five favorite posts from the first half of this year, in case you missed them the first time around. If you're still looking for more content to keep you busy while I'm out, you might want to start with the 2018 revisions to my "Best Pens" list, as well as my "Six Month Review" of favorite pens from the first half of 2018. Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend!  

  1. Workhorse Pens: Montblanc 146. This year I resolved to write more about those pens and gear that I actually use on a day-to-day basis, rather than trying to keep up with what seems like an endless stream of new releases. One result was the "Workhorse Pens" series. 
  2. Workhorse Pens: Lamy 2000. I revisited another "workhorse" that I keep coming back to. The Lamy 2000, in all of its various incarnations (fountain pen, ballpoint, multipen) is always in my pen case.  
  3. My 2018 Notebook Setup. My current notebook setup. I've largely stuck with this "lineup", though I've added a Nock Seed A5 that might displace the Bellroy Work Folio in my everyday carry.  
  4. Great Pen Stores: My Visit to Vanness Pens. One of the first posts from this year. In late December, I had the opportunity to visit Vanness Pens in Little Rock, Arkansas, and had a blast. While I didn't get to come back for the Arkansas Pen Show, I'm definitely making time to visit Vanness again in the future. 
  5. Great Pen Stores: Papier Plume in New Orleans. While my March trip wasn't my first visit to Papier Plume, it did serve as my first introduction to Faggionato pens, which have quickly become a favorite. 

Six Month Review: Favorite Pens from the First Half of 2018

Every year my family and I take a break around Memorial Day to go on vacation and forget about work for a week or two. In the past, I’ve tried to keep up with the blog in some form or fashion, (1) because I enjoy doing this, and (2) I have a hard time just “letting things sit”, even for as little time as a week. This year, though, I’m doing things a bit differently, writing out some content a couple weeks ahead of time so that you’ll have something to read, and I’ll have some actual time off, from both “real work” and from pens.

First up is my annual “Six Month” recap, where I give you my top five products that I reviewed or acquired during the first six months of the year. The Faggionato Pens are easily my favorite discovery so far, though once I get my hands on a Kanilea Hanauma Bay they will likely have competition. So without further ado, I give you the list.  

Disclaimer: The following contains links to paid sponsors and affiliates. It’s how I support the blog and keep the lights on around here. That said, whether or not I chose to include a specific pen on this list in the first place is a choice separate and apart from which retailer I choose to link to.  No sponsor or affiliate had any input into the pens included on this list, which reflects my own personal opinion.      

Faggionato PKS/Petrarque. Two pens that are “in the queue” for a formal review. The smaller Petrarque first caught my eye during my March visit to Papier Plume in New Orleans. I picked up a second Faggionato, the larger PKS model, at the Atlanta Pen Show a month later. I love the streamlined shape of these pens, especially the section, which makes them very comfortable writers. Faggionato pens are available in a wide range of unique acrylics and celluloid derivatives.

Lamy Studio Racing Green and Piano Black Special Editions. I’m partial to the Lamy Studio, especially the 14k nib version, and this year’s special releases were excellent, easily trumping the Safari and AL-Star special editions, in my book. The Racing Green is now difficult to find, but the Piano Black is still available, featuring Lamy’s bouncy 14kt nib. Initial impressions of the Racing Green here.

Moonman M2 Eyedropper. Rarely do you find this combination of quality and value. I’ve personally never had a nib this good, at least out of the box, on a fountain pen this inexpensive. Note that this pen is eyedropper only, so if you don’t want to deal with the potential mess, take a pass. Full review here.

Wing Sung 618 (Piston Filler) and 601 (Vacumatic Filler). I promise I’ll quit pushing these pens once mine finally crap out on me. But seriously, six months in, these bargain-basement piston fillers / vacumatics have become everyday workhorses for me. I don’t worry about losing them or breaking them at work, and while some nibs write better than others, they hold a ton of ink and I’ve paid five times as much for less reliable fountain pens. Initial thoughts here.

Montegrappa Monte-Grappa. Montegrappa seems to have simplified things with their releases this year, opting for vintage-inspired offerings like the Monte-Grappa. This pen comes with your choice of stainless or 14k nibs, and both versions feature a high-end ratcheting piston filler that holds a lot of ink. Montegrappa also recently switched to JoWo nibs, which in my opinion has vastly improved the writing experience. Look for a full review on the blog soon.

“Honorable Mention”

Kanilea Pen Company Hanauma Bay. Ok, this one’s cheating a little bit, because I’ve never seen it in person, much less bought it, but given Kanilea’s track record, and the fact that I own two of them already, I’m pretty confident that I’m going to love this one once I get the chance to have the pen in-hand. Surefire buy at some point this year, so it’s on here, but I can’t technically put it on the list yet. My review of the Kanilea Mauna Kea here.

I can’t wait for the second half of 2018 and seeing which of these pens end up making my “best of” 2018 post. Will the Kanilea top the Faggionatos? Will the Wing Sungs and the Moonman last a full year of heavy use? Stay tuned.

Site Update: 2018 Updates to the "Best Pen" Recommendations List

I've been taking care of some housekeeping here at TGS over the past few days, and one thing I've been meaning to do is update my "Best Pens" recommendations to better reflect what I've been using lately. The changes aren't that significant, but you'll want to check out the updates to the "My Favorite Fountain Pens" category, as well as the "Disposable Pens" and "Refillable Ballpoints/Rollerballs" lists.  Significant pens making an appearance are the Opus 88 Koloro and the Ti Arto Universal Refill pen. I've left the 2017 list live on a separate page for now, so that you all can see any changes. 

Enjoy!  

Almost Four Years, Really? Finding Older Posts and Where to Begin

The Gentleman Stationer community has grown steadily over the past four years, with lots of new readers reaching out every week. This is awesome, by the way, and I love hearing from all of you! One question I frequently get from new readers is "where to start" on the blog. I've been writing here regularly since 2014, so there's a lot of content to navigate. I've played around with the idea of putting together a "Master List" of pens and inks I've reviewed, but that's turned into a rather large project that's still in the works as I try to figure out the best way to do it in a way that's both easy to navigate AND easy to update.

Start with the Guides and Move to the Archives

For now,  if you're new to The Gentleman Stationer (or the pen hobby in general), I'd recommend that you start with the various lists and guides I've assembled over the years, including my "Best Pen" and "Best Ink" recommendations for various purposes and at various price points. These will likely be updated in the coming months. 

I also maintain an archive of past posts listed in reverse-chronological order (most recent posts listed first), which has been fun to read since it's organized by month, and you can go back and see what pens and inks I started with and how my interests have evolved. Finally, last year I wrote a monthly newsletter titled "Digital Divide," which addressed a variety of analog-related topics. All of these newsletters are now archived on the site. I'm currently working on a couple of different projects along the same lines, including a new monthly newsletter, but I'm struggling with the "not enough hours in the day" problem. Stay tuned. 

Finally, all readers of this blog should be aware of Pennaquod, a pen-specific search engine run by Ian Hedley over at Pens! Paper! Pencils! Pennaquod pulls results from several dozen pen blogs (including this one), and it's a great way to read a diverse set of reviews on a pen before you make a purchase. 

I hope this little recap has been helpful, and please, don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. Feel free to contact me through the "Contact Me" link on the site, through email at joe (at) gentlemanstationer.com, or via Twitter (@vintagegntlmn) or Instagram (@gentlemanstationer). For all of you who have been been with me for four years, thanks again! I enjoy writing here every week and plan to continue for the foreseeable future!